It's a Bit of a Long Story
by Reensie17
Summary: Shelby and Laura, the two lovable girls from the Fab Four! In this tale of treasures, explore though their pasts where you'll find romance, hilarious witty banter, a couple of seriously insane people and much, MUCH more!
1. Chapter 1: Shelby

**Hi everyone! Well, this is the new story that I've been working through summer on! So far I've got 4ish chapters and it's continuing to grow! I've been working super diligently on this story so I really hope that you appreciate it!**

**Anyways, this story is basically about Laura and Shelby and their _Pasts_. It's pretty hard to write their pasts AND stay in character so please forgive me if it may seem a smidge OOC. But then again, most amazing fics are OOC ;) **

****UPDATE** line breaks are expressed as such: **-))()-()((- **because the doc manager is giving me a hard time -_-**

**Okay enough talking!**

**I give you: _It's a bit of a Long Story_**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong>

**Shelby: So this is my story?**

**Me: Well you AND Laura's**

**Shelby: *rolls eyes* Who cares about Brand?**

**Me: Well if it means anything to you, you get to star in every other chapter!**

**Shelby: Ooh, I do like the sound of that. Do I get to go out with a really hot guy too?**

**Me: Hmm…maybe. Do the disclaimer and I'll consider it.**

**Shelby: HIVE belongs to Mark Walden! There! Do I get my hot guy now?**

**Me: Maybe.**

**Shelby: 0_0 Why not?**

**Me: Because you didn't say that all the OCs belong to ME!**

**Shelby: Well I'm not going to say it now that you just did…**

**Me: Right. *awkward silence* Okay let's get on with the fic!**

**Shelby: I second that. READ MY STORY!**

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><p><em><strong>~Drama Queen, Perfect Timetables and an Irresistible Science Teacher~<strong>_

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><p><em>I was so ready to kill that man right then and there. But fortunately for me, Travis stepped to my defence.<em>

_Oh how I love Travis._

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><p><em>September 3rd<em>

"EEK!" Kiki screamed. And man, when I say she screamed, she really did let it out. Lungs of a singer, I always said, "Aren't you excited Shelby? The first day of 8th grade is tomorrow and do you know what that means?"

Of course I knew what that meant. But I decided to keep my mouth shut. Might as well let her talk her head off.

"We are seniors! Tomorrow," she jumped up on my bed, "We are officially in charge of the school!" she stood tall and proud with her arms up high.

Drama queen.

I rolled my eyes, "We're in middle school Kiki—it's the last year. It's no big."

She looked at me with wide eyes, as if _I_ were the crazy one, "It's not just the last year of some middle school that we'll never remember when we are old. No, it's our final year to be young—and _free_!" she exclaimed.

"Of course it is," Cassie said sarcastically, "The only thing that I'm excited for is finally being captain of the dance team and the musical."

"Why the musical?" Kiki jumped off my bed and glared at Cassie, "Not trying to steal my spotlight are you?"

"No, no drama queen! Ms. Greene said that I could be head choreographer!" Cassie said reluctantly. She hates it when we make a big deal of things.

"Cas, that's amazing!" Kiki gave a big hug to our friend.

"That's awesome girl! This years musical is gonna be sick! I mean with our own Drama geek here snagging the lead role," I put an arm around Kiki's shoulder, "And our dancer prodigy leading the moves, nothing could be better!"

"So Shel, what are you gonna star in then?" Cassie plopped down on my plush couch, looking expectedly at me.

"Erm...I'm thinking of trying for captain of the soccer team..."

"That's an awesome idea! You should definitely do it!" Kiki replied with excitement. Well...there were only a few moments in which Kiki had no excitement involved.

"Yeah Shel, do it," Cas said it not in an opinion way but more of a strict order way.

"I think I will!" I said with confidence.

My friends always knew what to say to cheer me on. Kiki, a bubbly chick with her silky black hair and equally silky personality. Though at times she could be fierce and hyper, she would always be my best friend. Cassie, or Cas as I love to call her, was always more of a shy girl. She was a Ginger, but she broke all the rules. Of course she had the flaming red hair but she had a face free of freckles and instead of having a pale complexion, she had a rather tanned skin toned. Not totally tanned but as tanned as an Irish-born could get. Both girls were beautiful, both for different reasons. I was lucky to have such amazing friends.

"Okay, one big question," I started, "What are we going to wear?"

Kiki, like on any fashion related subject, stood straighter and more professionally, "I could score some of the runway stuff from my mother."

Cas and I smiled. Kiki's mother was the founder and head designer for Kamari fashions, one of the most esteemed fashion lines in the state. If Kiki could get us some of those clothes, we would look fantastic.

"I was thinking," Kiki started, "White shorts, all of us. It shows off the wicked summer tans that we've build up. Top wise, we could—"

Thunk.

Kiki was interrupted because of a small tap from the balcony door. Looking annoyed, Kiki opened the door. Suddenly a small stone flying up from below, hit her in the thigh.

"Ouch!" she ran to railing. Someone down there was laughing.

Travis. It _had_to be.

"TRAVIS! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU THROWING ROCKS AT ME?" Kiki shouted down at him.

"I wasn't aiming for _you_, I was trying to get your attention. It guess it worked," Cas ran to the balcony to join Kiki while I ran downstairs.

Opening the front door, I ran barefoot to Travis and gave him a squishy bear hug.

"Travis! You weren't suppose to be back until next week," I buried my head into his shoulder.

"I decided that I couldn't miss the first day of school, especially since I'm gonna be quarter back of the football team," he grinned mischievously at me.

"What. Not trying for captain?"

"Nah. I'll leave that to someone more...responsible than me. Plus I can't give a good pep talk even if my life depended on it."

I really missed Travis. He was my best guy friend. It was always good to have a couple of those for when girls just tired you out. Travis would always listen to my problems. Sometimes he would be serious…mostly not. But maybe it was because he was so immature that he was my friend.

"All ready for school then Gray?" Cas patted him on the back. Kiki walked up the lawn with her.

Travis laughed, "Yeah, sure. I'm especially excited to see how many hot babes are in my class."

Cas, Kiki and Travis continued to talk. As excited as I was, I didn't feel like discussing 'hot babes'. But suddenly, one word stuck out at me.

"...like Dan. He got tons of them at camp. He's a total hen."

"Hen?" Kiki asked.

"Yeah. He's a chick magnet," grinned Travis.

I blushed. Daniel Sotovsky was one of the hottest guys at Ralston East Prep. He mesmerized all the girls. Including me.

"Well you can't blame him can you," I said, "I mean, he's every girls dream."

"Yeah," Kiki sighed, "He's gorgeous, smart, athletic and nice. It's strange that he's never had a girl friend..."

"Well he told me that he's never liked a girl before," Travis shrugged.

"Really?" Kiki and Cas yelled in unison. Personally, I wasn't surprised.

"Is he like...gay?" Kiki asked.

Nice Kiki. I loved how that was the first thing that came to her mind.

"I mean there's nothing wrong with that if he is," she added quickly.

"No... he isn't. He just hasn't found someone who he likes enough to go out with," Travis said simply.

"Shelby!" a voice rang through the awkward air.

"Yeah?" I yelled back.

Greg popped his head out of the door, "We're going to the airport now!"

-))()-()((-

Fifteen minutes later, after saying bye to my friends, and reapplying my makeup, I found myself in the back of our sleek, black Pilot. We were dropping Greg off at the airport. Greg, my older brother, went to an out of state university. It was cool, I mean, I got the extra bedroom (which was currently my entertainment room), but I admit, I missed him from time to time.

"Well Shelly, I'll see you soon...hopefully. Don't go jumping off of cliffs or anything stupid like that," he said when we arrived. I playfully punched him in the arm.

"Yeah see ya on thanksgiving!" I smiled brightly.

"Also," Greg crouched down to my height, " Good luck with those soccer try outs. I know you'll ace them." he whispered encouragingly.

That was actually very comforting coming from him. In his middle school senior year, he had been named captain. So did my dad...Hmm I guess it runs in the family.

"Don't worry Greg, I'll make it."

I hope.

-))()-()((-

Standing on the curb in from of my house, I stared down at my brand new Coach oxfords. In my head, I ran through a last minute checklist.

White shorts, check.

Tribal print tank, Check.

Metal owl necklace, check.

All the items included in my outfit were from Kiki's mom's fashion line.

Pencil case, check.

Soccer ball, check.

Lunch—

A revving engine cut my thoughts, short.

"Hey Trinity! Hop in!" Travis shouted over the loud engine.

"Took you long enough," I yelled back as I climbed into the crisp, red convertible. Kiki and Cas were already seated happily.

"Looking great girl!" Kiki told me as I plopped down beside her.

Travis's older brother, Clark, went to Cinderdale High. He dropped us off on the way.

"Excited?" Cas asked.

"Definitely," I grinned.

The ride to school was filled with gossip, thanks to Kiki and Travis.

Now that I think of it, Travis is the _only _straight guy who can participate in gossip…

-))()-()((-

To me, the first day of school is the most wasted day of school. I mean those exam days are pretty comparable too but the first day of school is filled with mindless activities such as icebreakers. Why do we even need icebreakers? Most of is already know each other's name considering we've been in the same class since kindergarten. Only about 400 students attend Ralston Prep (about 50 per grade, 25 per class) so we pretty much already know everyone in our grade AND all the other grades as well. So obviously I had all of my classes with my friends.

My timetable ran through my head. English, Science Art, Spanish. That was the first semester. Second semester was Dance, Gym, Math and Geography. But I didn't have to worry about that until the middle of January.

I liked my schedule. This year was gonna be awesome. And thanks to Cassie's family's donations to the school, I had all of my classes with Kiki, Travis and Cas.

-))()-()((-

_September 24th_

"Okay class, I'm giving back your tests from last Thursday. Majority of you did very well," Mr. Kurt flashed a winning smile. I swear I actually heard some girls sigh.

Mr. Kurt was our Science teacher. Everyone said that he was the most handsome guy at our school, hands down. Personally, I didn't fall for is million dollar looks, which included silky platinum hair, a muscular build, (there's probably a six pack hidden underneath his cotton Ralph Lauren polo,) and gorgeous turquoise eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. I find that the old phrase 'Don't judge a book by it's cover,' a big part. Sure, I admit, he was kinda hot on the outside, but inside was a fire-breathing dragon that was itching to get at you. He was intimidating, shallow and not the smartest leaf on the tree. On top on that, he _constantly_ picked on me. It was only two weeks into school and I already found him disgusting.

"This test was going to be a diagnostic but since everyone did so well, I think I'll count it towards your grade. It's good to see that people actually studied. Cells is a very hard unit for some and it's great to see that most took it seriously," He flashed a glance at our table where Travis was snickering quietly.

"Travis? Do you think that the study of Cells is not serious?" Mr. Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

Travis sighed and rolled his eyes. Did I mention how much I love that kid? "No sir," he replies dully.

"That's what I thought. You did very well on the test by the way. We wouldn't want scientific potential to go to waste now would we?"

"No sir."

"Good. Now I want everyone to work on that one handout that I gave to you yesterday. While you are doing that, I will hand out the tests."

The worksheet was simple. I finished last class. So instead of being a nerd and going over the answers, I doodled mindlessly on my notebook.

"Miss. Trinity," Mr. Kurt called, "May I see you in the hall please?"

I winced. Did he have to say that out loud? And did he have to use my last name? Come to think of it, he was the only teacher who called me 'Miss Trinity'.

I followed him out of the classroom. Luckily the rest class was chatting away so nobody noticed me slinking out. Kiki always said that I had a talent of mysteriously disappearing and appearing at the most random times. This time though, wasn't so random.

Mr. Kurt closed the door behind him and turned to me, "Miss Trinity. Everyone in this class passed this test. Of course, there were a couple low 60s. But that's still a pass. The majority got around 75%."

"Yeah and...?" I started to get concerned.

"Don't interrupt," he snapped. Right now, he looked pretty ugly, if that was possible, "Anyways as I was saying, everyone passed...except for you. You got 48%. I'm very disappointed."

Yeah right. He didn't look disappointed. He looked amused.

I started at him in disbelief, "But it's just a diagnostic right? I mean, it doesn't count."

"It was. But I changed it because everyone did so well," he said flatly.

"Everyone except for me."

"Yes. It's unfortunate isn't it? But I can't give you special treatment," he paused, " You took the test with an honest mind right? You didn't fail on purpose, I mean."

"No. I didn't. I legitimately took it."

"It pains me to say this, but if this is how you are going to continue throughout this unit, then you can't do any sports or extra-circulars," he said, plastering a fake frown on his face.

No. That meant that I couldn't try out for soccer. That definitely was _not _an option, "Is there any way that I can pull my grade up?"

He thought for a moment, "You'd need to do well on next week's test. You'd need at least 82% to get back on track. I suggest you get a tutor," and with that, he gave me the failed test and went back into the room.

I stayed out to look at the quiz. Wow. I had done really badly.

Well at least he wasn't being unfair with his marking, I thought sourly.

I went back into the noisy room and sat down at our table.

"Shel! I was wondering where you disappeared to," Kiki winked at me.

"Read it and weep," I tossed the paper to her.

"Oh. My. Goodness. How did you manage that?" she gasped. Cas and Travis took a look at it.

"What the hell Shelly? Were you high when you wrote this?" Travis asked. He wasn't the most sensitive guy.

"I must have been," I said miserably and jokingly, of course. I didn't feel like coming up with a witty remark.

"Wait, that means that you can't try for soccer captain!" Cas said with astonishment.

"Exactly. Kurt said that I'd need at least an eighty something to be able to be back to normal."

"Funny how he chose _this _test to count," Kiki said gravely.

"He _hates _me." was my only response.

"Well don't worry Shel, we'll help you study," Cas said reassuringly.

"Definitely," Kiki seconded.

"Thanks guys, you have no idea how much that means to me," I grinned. I had amazing friends.

"I'm only doing it because if Shelby doesn't make the team this year, we're toast," Travis said with a smile.

Well...most of my friends were amazing.

-))()-()((-

"Aghh," Kiki sighed while tugging her leg warmers up. She was sprawled across one of our many our library couches. Cas was lounging on a beanbag and Travis and I sat on the love seat, opposite to Kiki's couch.

"Umm...wait. Don't tell me. I'll get the answer," I had my textbook in my hands and was desperately flipping through it.

"Shelby, we've been at it for hours. You have a textbook. How do you not know the answer?" Kiki groaned.

"Oh I got it," I ran my finger over the definition, "Osmosis?"

"Great job. Unfortunately, for the test, you aren't allowed to use your book," Cas said shaking her head.

"Yeah Shelby, I bet even I could do better then you," Travis said.

That caught me off guard, "Uhhh no. If you haven't noticed Trav, but I am clearly smarter than you."

"Sure, but in science, I'm a total genius. I could beat Shelby Trinity in a heart beat."

"Travis, what are you trying—"

"Shhhh," Kiki glared at Cas. She then went over to Cas's beanbag and whispered something in her ear.

I ignored the two girls and retorted to Travis, "Face it Travis, you can _never_beat me. You can try but you won't in the end."

"Oh I don't know about that," He scoffed, "How about this. Let's do a contest right now. Without any textbooks. Winner gets a favour."

"Favour? How is that a prize?"

"Well we can have anything we want. That's a prize," Travis shrugged.

"Fine. It's on."

-))()-()((-

_October 5th_

Three days later I waited patiently in our science class. I was feeling pretty confident about the test. It went well. At least I thought it went well. And I had also beaten Travis. That was easy. I had won as he said, 'a favour'. I said that I'd save it for later.

Anyways, it was the beginning of class and we were all excited to get out tests back. This was the first unit test of the year. If you did well, it pretty much reflected the semester. If you did bad then you did bad the whole semester. I had no idea how that worked but there was no way that soccer was going to get taken away from me because of a lousy test score. Though I'm sure my parents would be fairly pissed if I did do badly.

"Okay class," Mr. Kurt got the classes attention, "I will start handing out the unit tests from Monday. I was very surprised by some of the results. Nonetheless, I will hand them out. Though I will have to talk to a few of you."

Oh God. I do _not_ want to talk to _him_again.

I remembered back to Sunday, when all of us were studying. Travis's approach was amazing. Competition always got me working that extra ten percent. I hoped that the competition was there to help me on the test. I really did need those extra marks.

"Shel," Kiki said, "Don't worry about it. We studied hard. You will definitely get over and eighty."

"Thanks Kiki but I need over an eighty two to try out for soccer," I sighed.

"You'll get it," Cas replied. I did feel more confident with their pep talk. Maybe I did pass. That would be great!

Mr. Kurt came over to our table, "Good job girls. And Travis," he handed them their tests. Finally he reached me, "Very good try Ms. Trinity," he gave me a sympathetic smile (so fake) and went to the next group.

"I got ninety one!" Cas said, excited.

"Eighty seven," Travis chimed in.

"Eighty five," Kiki turned to me, "What did you get Shel?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. EIGHTY-ONE...AND A _HALF_? Who gives out half marks? I passed my sheet to Kiki, who just stared at it with her mouth wide open.

"Who gives out half marks?" Travis asked. Exactly what I was thinking, "Wait. What did you get it on?"

"I don't know! Find it," I snapped. I was devastated.

"Wait a darn minute," Travis looked at my test, "That answer was right! Why did he give you half?"

"Because he _HATES _me," I said flatly.

"You should go and talk to him Shelby, you deserve that mark," Cas told me.

"Fine. I will," I grabbed my test lazily and headed over to Mr. Kurt's desk. He barely glanced up at me when I arrived.

"Yes Miss Trinity?"

I swallowed, "Umm. Sir I think you made a mistake with my test."

He looked up, "No I didn't. I made sure to mark yours extra..._carefully_," he sneered.

"Well over here you gave me a half mark when I clearly desired the full mark," I pointed over to the mistake.

He stared at it for a while, "No. That is worth one half."

"But why?" I was seriously confused.

"Because you did not circle the corresponding letter correctly," he said simply.

My jaw dropped, "What?"

"You circled it using an oval shape while I specifically said 'Circle the right answer', not 'Oval the right answer'."

I was so ready to kill that man right then and there. But fortunately for me, Travis stepped forward. Mr. Kurt's attention immediately turned to Travis.

Oh how I love Travis.

"Yes Mr. Gray."

Travis opened his test to the second page, "Sir, I think you marked my test wrong."

"How so?" I looked at the test, "All of those answers are right."

Travis glanced at me quickly, "Yeah but I 'Ovaled' all of those answers. You marked them right."

Suddenly, I knew what Travis was on to. I felt a large grin spread across my face.

Mr. Kurt looked confused. Finally he understood, "Fine Miss Trinity, I'll give you any marks you might have lost from my…mistake," he sighed and snatched my test. A minute later he gave it back, the new grade, an eighty-four, gleaming proudly on the page.

The bell rang and we all left the classroom. Immediately, I flung my arms around Travis, "Thank you so much Trav! I could seriously kiss you right now!"

"Hmm…I may take you up on that offer," he said thoughtfully. I punched him playfully in the arm.

"Did that count as a favour?" I asked.

"Definitely not. I just did that for the team. The soccer girls may actually have a chance if you're on the team!" he grinned.

"You're awesome Trav. Thanks!" I smiled.

As of then, my mind was set on making the captain of the soccer team.

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><p><strong>So…what do you think? I've worked so hard on this chapter so I'd really appreciate the feedback ;)<strong>

**Review!**

**~Reensie (^_^)**


	2. Chapter 2: Laura

**Hi everyone! I'm back! ****I'm super sorry that lately I've been totally...dead. I hope I didn't cause anything major for all of you Icanthandlethesuspense-o-phobics! *****meep* Again, sorry about that LONG break there...school was...ughh...**

**The next chappy of Pasts is right here though, wrapped in pretty paper and a bow on top for your liking :) **

**This chapter is all about: Laura! Oh lovable Laura Brand, a shy, caring girl with a talent for tech. Laura is definitely my favourite to write for. I especially love her sarcastic under tone, it's quite refreshing!**

**I give a big hug *hug* and cookie *(:)* to my good friend Tam who edited this! Thanks :)**

**So, enjoy! This chap will be around 3000 words so...sit back, prehaps with a banana smoothie and some cookies, ;) and read on! **

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><p><em><strong>~Incoherent Accents, Strange Science Questions and the New Student~<strong>_

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><p><em>It's also kind of funny how I have all of my classes with Cameron.<em>

_Okay…maybe that's not so funny…_

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><p><em>September 7th<em>

I neatly stacked the last of my books on the white shelf above my bed. There, finally, I was finished.

August was gone which meant that I was back at McAllaster Hall for another year of learning. McAllaster Hall, they say, is one of the best international boarding schools in the world. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to travel far for the school is in my country, Scotland. I was at this school for my entire schooling career and I have to admit, it was more of a home then my own house. With its three-story library, six-floored technology building, and many courtyards and balconies, this place was my castle of dreams. I loved being there.

I opened the French white balcony doors to reveal a bright blue sky dotted with fluffy cumulus clouds. Perfect weather. Looking over the rail I saw students riding bikes, and motorized scooters, traveling to and from their dorm rooms. I saw parents hugging and guiding their children. I also saw students catching up with old friends.

Old friends.

_Where's Chloe?_ I checked my watch. 3:48pm. Friday. The last day of settling week.

"Ughhh," I groaned. That only meant one thing: Summer Switch. Summer Switch was a two-week program that introduced students to their new classmates and teachers. For three hours, each school day, we had one subject where we played games and got to know each other. There was no work. Everyone loved it. Except for me.

I went back into the room to read up some curricular for the year. Suddenly, as I was reading about dividing fractions, the door slammed open and in came a grinning brunette and two excited looking adults behind her.

"Laura!" the girl screamed. She leaped on my bed and gave me a bone-crushing hug. I hugged back with equal intensity.

"Chloe! Your late!" I scowled.

"I know, I know! But the 'rents paid the helicopter pilot to go the long way," she rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb towards the two parents who were willingly carrying Chloe's bags.

You couldn't drive up to McAllaster Hall- well, unless it was a flying car. You had to fly a plane to the helicopter port then take a helicopter ride to the school. That's what you get when you attend a mountain school.

"Vwow sweetheart, zees is such a beauthiful room. I guez they coostumize your room to zee age, yes?" Chloe's mom, Jenia Kolvasi, asked with a thick accent. Chloe, fortunately, had adapted a more...understandable version of this accent.

"Yeah mom, this is the 8th grade dorm building," Chloe answered.

"Iz zere any boys on zees floor, Coco?" Mr. Kolvasi asked seriously.

Chloe winced at the unwanted nickname, "Yes dad, it is co-ed."

"Sinze vwhen?" His eyebrows shot up.

"Since forever," I said.

"Hmm. Okay. Keep an eye oot. And lock your door at zee night. I do not want any boys coming in here."

"Believe us, Mr. Kolvasi, we don't want any either," I eyed Chloe.

"Speak for yourself," she muttered. Then said cheerfully, "I think it's time for you guys to leave. When's your flight again?"

"Oh Coco, you jest," Her mother laughed, "Zee plane can leave whenever, az long az vee are being on it."

Right. Private plane. I had forgotten about that. Unlike Chloe and well..the majority of the school, I wasn't rich. Just comfortable middle class. I was on a strict scholarship here.

"Well what about the helicopters? You better catch a good one before they are all gone," Chloe muttered.

"Oh yes! I forgot about zee helicopters! I think vee vill leave you now. I'd like to talk to Dianne before vee go. Have a good thime vwith zee Zummer Zwitch!" Jenia hugged her daughter and me.

"And remember, if you need us, vee are a plane and helicopter avay! That goes for you too, Laura," Mr. Kolvasi winked at both of us. After a final wave, Chloe's parents left.

"Finally," Chloe muttered, "Now we can have some fun."

-))()-()((-

A laborious hour later, after rearranging the furniture and emptying Chloe's suitcase, the two of us found ourselves sipping raspberry lemonade (sent up from the lounge) on our balcony. Seated, in the comfy plush chairs, we started to gossip.

"So apparently Mandy is downstairs in the lounge, showing off her tan to all of the guys who care. Which, now thinking about it, is all of the guys," I said, trying to look bored.

"Yeah. That bitch. Showing off how she spent her vacation in Greenland," Chloe scoffed.

"Greenland… isn't it cold there?"

"How would I know? I haven't been there. She probably went to the south. I remember her Facebook status. I think she went to... Barsil?" she said, thinking.

"Brazil, you mean. And that's in South America."

"Right. Well I've had enough talk about her. Promise me something."

"Sure."

"We will never collaborate with a ditz like her."

"Agreed," I replied smiling.

"Now, onto guys. We are having a new student this year," she leaned forward.

"Oh? I thought that they weren't allowed to accept students past 4th grade," I raised an eyebrow.

"Well I guess he's important. Anyways, he's from the west. America no doubt," she paused as my other eyebrow shot up, "And get this, he's a total hottie!"

I wasn't impressed. This 'hottie' was probably an egotistic jerk face that would be snapped up by Mandy in two seconds. All 'hotties' were like that. Better to stay away.

"So?"

Chloe's jaw dropped in confusion, "What? How could you say that! It's a new guy on the market!"

"Well don't get your hopes up. You've forgotten about Mandy."

"Ahh but that's the beauty," A sly grin crept onto Chloe's face, "Mandy is still with Brian. And Brian is a looker. She wouldn't dump him."

"Aye, I guess your right," I sighed.

-))()-()((-

"Okay everybody! I've put twenty questions on the board. I'll pass around some paper and I'll give you guys ten minutes to answer them," Mr. Farrow said to the class before him. He had a pleasant appearance. With light brown, messy hair and a young looking face, he was actually very cute. Except for the fact that he was forty-something.

"Oh boy, a questionnaire. Excited Laura?" Chloe whispered from beside me.

"Yes. Finally. Something academic," I sighed with relief. I was getting tired of all the supposed 'fun games' each teacher had planned.

"Um...Laura you do know that this is the first class we've been to right?" Chloe replied, looking at me with an amused stare.

"Erm...yeah. I forgot...You know how much I hate Summer Switch," I spluttered. Damn, the 'fun' hasn't even started yet.

"Ready?" Mr. Farrow asked after he handed out paper. Of course I didn't need one. I'm always prepared. He retracted the screen that covered the blackboard. Many questions were scrawled on the smooth black face.

"Oh wow. You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

Chloe smiled, "Awesome! These aren't boring Science questions! Now these, I can answer."

I stared at the first question: _What type of qualities would you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend._

What the hell? How was this related to Science?

"I hope that you enjoy the slightly eccentric questions. Normally I'd put some science stuff on, but I decided to appeal to the new generation!" he exclaimed.

Wow, my luck.

I quickly wrote down my answer: _I am not looking for a mate to complete my life therefore the qualities would be irrelevant._

_Hmm this will be easier then I thought..._

Question two:_ What type of ice cream do you enjoy?_

_Easy!_ I put down my answer.

Question three: _What is your favorite part of school?_

_Everything!_

And so for the next couple of minutes, that's how the time went. I have to admit, my answers were a smidge unusual but they were the truth.

"Okay! Pencils down! Time to share!" Mr. Farrow called-out, "You!" he pointed to the student on my left, Calvin McAdams, "Go first! I'll go down the row."

Great I'm next.

I listened to Calvin's...interesting responses to the twenty questions. Some of them were pretty funny. But hey, Calvin was always the class clown.

"You can go next," Mr. Farrow pointed at me.

I cleared my throat, and started to share. I told everyone my first answer. To my disliking, I heard a couple people snicker.

Then Mandy spoke up, "It's much easier saying that no guy is interested in _you_ rather than saying you aren't interested in _them_."

A few more started to laugh. A blush sneaked onto my face. My palms got tingly. I felt mortified.

"Okay now! Everyone stop," Our science teacher shouted, "She's just sharing her opinion. That's the whole point of the activity! Well done!" He winked at me.

I continue to share when suddenly Mr. F stopped me on the twentieth question, "You have to really answer that."

"What?" I asked, perplexed. The question was 'what would be your dream date?'

"You just said, 'I wouldn't go out in the first place.'" he said wearily.

"Okay. Umm...well I guess my dream date would be to do something...academic like going to the library or a museum. Then maybe a nice dinner…I really love pizza. And maybe a movie...something thrilling. Something that makes you think. Romantic comedies are boring..." I said trailing off.

"Thank you Miss Brand!" Mr. Farrow's cheerful face lit up in a grin.

We continued to go through everyone's answers. After the fifth person, though, my mind drifted off.

"—My perfect date would to just relax with the girl. Dates are usually so stressful. I'd like to do something fun. You know?" That answer sparked my attention.

"Thank you for you unique answers! By the way, I hope that you've settled in nicely," Mr. Farrow nodded at the blonde haired boy.

"No problem," the American replied, "I like being different."

-))()-()((-

A soft piano solo filled the room. Instantly I knew the song.

_Symphony of silver tears..._

I looked around to see if anyone else knew the song. No hands were up.

_Overcast, these gloomy nights wear on..._

I started mouthing the familiar lyrics.

_I sang my princess fast asleep. Cuz she was my dream come true._

My body started to sway. My brain was relaxed. I got lost in the music.

_But now those lonely lullabies, just dampen my tired eyes. Because I can't forget you._

My favorite part was coming up...

_Because I can't forget you..._  
><em>I'll disso—<em>

"Okay. I think that's enough time. Does anyone know the song?" Miss. Sieling switched off the calming tune.

I raised my hand, "Lonely Lullaby by Owl City."

"Very good! How did you know that?" the bubbly teacher asked.

I flashed a knowing smile, "It's my favourite song."

"No wonder, it's so depressing," Mandy muttered to one of her clones.

"The girls get another point! Wow! That's Miss Brand's sixth point! She's on a roll!" She put a tick on the board, "Come on boys! You're tied now!"

We were sitting in the music room, playing Guess that Song. I admit it was one of the more fun games of Summer Switch.

"Great job Laura!" Larissa whispered to me. She was the one of class leaders and a good friend.

"Thanks," I nodded at her.

Chloe was unfortunately not in this class with me. She went for Vocal while I went with instrumental. But so far, we were in Science, Math, English, and Geography/History together. That still left Gym and Technology Studies. Well technically that meant only Gym was left because there was no way in heck that Chloe would take tech.

"Okay everybody! We only have time for one more song. So hopefully we can get a winner. Hmm let's switch it up. Hehe…switch it up during Summer Switch. Anyone get it?" the class was silent, "Okay…maybe not. Anyways choose one person off your team and we'll do a one on one. Okay choose!" She cheerfully said. Miss. Sieling was one of the best teachers here. She was so nice and fun. Maybe that's because she was in her late twenties...

"Okay ladies who are we choosing?" Larissa addressed us.

"I think we should put Laura up. She knew every song that Miss. S has played," Tory said. She's the athlete of the group. Every time she talks, it's in strategy mode.

"Good idea!" Larissa smiled at me, "What do you think Laura?"

Before I could answer, one of Mandy's clones, Trisha, spoke up.

"I think we should like give everyone a turn?" Her voice lifted at the end of every sentence, which makes it sound like a question, "Like I think we should put Mandy in?"

"Ohmygosh Trisha, that's such a good idea!" Mandy chimed in.

"Okay, then it's like settled, Mandy goes in?" Trisha turned to me, "Not Laura."

There were a few grumbles scattered around the group. But fortunately everyone was smart enough to not speak against Mandy. It wasn't worth it.

"Time! Bring your players up to the front!" Miss. Sieling sang.

Mandy proudly stood and walked gracefully toward the front. From the boys, the new student, the blonde American, came towards the front. I noticed how Mandy's gaze went from bored to interested. She was looking at him like she was a hungry lion and he was a juicy steak.

"From the girls team is Mandy, and from the boys team is...um sorry but what's your name?"

"Cameron," the blonde replied.

"From the boys team is Cameron! Okay so here's how it works. I will play the song for a couple of versus. Then you will tell me the song. If you both know it, then both teams win!" Miss. Sieling went over to her iPod that was currently plugged into the stereo system, "Ready?"

"Yup," Cameron replied.

"Whatever," Mandy examined her nails.

"I swear, if she screws this up for us, I'll kill her," Tory muttered.

"Good. I won't have to," I answered back. She had a laugh about that.

The music started. A soft guitar riff rang though the room, until the lyrics came in.

_I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known._

_Don't know where it goes, But it's home to me and I walk alone._

Another guitar chimed in.

I bit my lip from singing out the lyrics. Of course I knew the song. It was a classic. Cameron looked like he knew it too. Who wouldn't? Oh. Right. Mandy wouldn't. She was busy fixing her lip-gloss with her compact.

_I walk alone. I walk alone. I walk alone I walk a—_

"Okay that's enough time! Write down the song. Mandy?" Miss. Sieling looked at Mandy, who wasn't bothering to write anything down. Cameron had already written his guess down.

"Huh?" flipped her hair. Larissa, Tory and I rolled our eyes.

Miss. Sieling's mouth twitched in a frown. She never frowned…

"The song Mandy?" she reminded the teen.

"Right," she replied. I held my breath. Come on Mandy. Make the girls team proud, "Well...all I know is that it's some sort of disgusting rock song. I zoned out after I heard the first word."

I knew it. Mandy could never make us proud.

"Okay. Time for the killing," Tory growled.

I rolled my eyes. When I looked up I saw Cameron glance at me with a _'Is she _that_ dumb'_ look. I replied with short nod and quickly looked away. I promised myself to stay away from that kid.

"Okay girls team. Mandy certainly doesn't care. Does anyone else know the song? Cameron has got the point. If someone else on the girl's team knows, then I will award a point to your team."

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Green Day," I said.

"Correct. Very nice. Everyone is tied up! Great way to end class! Dismissed," Miss. Sieling grinned at me. I stated to leave with Larissa and Tory when she called my name, "Laura can I talk to you please."

"Yes Miss. S?"

"I expect that you will be the head of woodwinds this year?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Of course," I replied with a big smile. Being head of the section was a great honour.

"Good. I knew I could count on you." She winked.

-))()-()((-

"Mandy didn't know that? Come on! Even I know that song!" Chloe scoffed while sipping her mocha latte.

"I know right? So I had to save the day!" I sighed and took another gulp of my banana coco chiller.

"So, what was Cameron's reaction?" she said grinning.

"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"Umm… what did he think of you saving the day?"

"I don't know. I wasn't looking," I said taking a bite of my lemon square.

"Really. Okay. Anyways, my drama class is soooo intense. Mary is in it with me and you know all about her," she continued to talk on about her drama icebreaker adventure, as she called it. We both finished out drinks, ten minutes later.

"Oh I'm going to be late for the Vocal activities!" she checked her watch, "Where are you going now?"

"Tech," I grabbed my shoulder bag and laptop.

"Have fun!" She gave a wave and left the café.

Definitely. Tech was my favourite class.

On my way to class, nearly running I might add, I realized someone was running ahead of me. In fact, he was going the exact same place. Blonde hair.

Please not be Cameron.

It was strange. I mean there was no legitimate reason why I hated him, I just… did. It was like I had to. It's hard to explain.

-))()-()((-

_September 22nd_

Finally, Summer Switch was finished. I scanned over my class schedule.

Math, Geography/History, Phys-Ed, Science, English, Tech and Music.

It's kind of funny how the last two classes of my day are without Chloe.

It's also kind of funny how I have all of my classes with Cameron.

Okay…maybe that's not so funny…

This year is going to be fun.

* * *

><p><strong>So...kinda long eh? Do you like it that way?<strong>

**I'll post a poll on my profile about that. Do you like the length of these chapters or would you rather have them shorter.**

**Shorter is...harder to do but if the majority likes short better, I'll try my best! :D**

**Check out my other fics *cough_ProjectDrabble_and_ForgetMeNot_cough* And if you wondering what's up with me, then you can go to my profile where I have weekly...erm monthlyish updates!**

**Review Please :)**

**Catch ya on the flip side!**

**~Reensie17 (^_^)**


	3. Chapter 3: Shelby

**Hi everyone *wave* HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPPY OF _PASTS_! **

**This time it's all about Shelby. Read it up! :P**

***warning another LONG chapter. See bottom A/N for more***

**Disclaimer: Shelby Trinity belongs to Mark Walden. All the other characters so far...I guess I rightfully own them.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Rival, Co-captains and Gym Keys~<strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Grade six. No soccer training. <em>

_She reminded me of myself at that age._

* * *

><p><em>October 9th<em>

_Receive._

Dribble.

Pass.

Run.

Receive.

Shoot.

Those steps ran though my head as I was practicing. Cas unfortunately was stuck as goalie as Travis and I went through the drill. Kiki was seating on the bleachers. She was there for moral support.

I kicked a particularly hard shot at Cas, who immediately dived to avoid it. I sighed.

"Cassie, this isn't dodge ball. It's soccer. You're suppose to get it before it gets into the net," Travis remarked.

Cas glared at him, "I know. But soccer isn't my sport. You guys know that. Can we switch please?"

"Fine," Travis jogged over to the net as Cas came out to do the drill with me. I admit that she was a better partner than goalie.

"Okay guys ready?" I asked. They both nodded. I sprinted off, adrenaline pumping though my veins. Receive, dribble, pass, run, receive—"

Just before I decided to shoot, I heard a voice.

"Hey Trinity, practicing to get onto the junior varsity team?"

"Oh god. Not now," I muttered. I stopped dribbling and kicked the ball up into my hands.

"Hi Kara," I said dryly.

"You didn't answer my question," she sneered. She walked over to me.

"You know perfectly well that I'm trying for varsity. Now are we done here?" I asked, impatiently.

"No we aren't. I see that you've got some moves here but do you think it's enough to beat me?"

"Kara, I'd rather not. I'm just practicing to get on the team."

"That's not what I heard," she smirked, "You want to try for captain."

I shrugged, "Yeah. So?"

She folded her arms in protest, "Well I want to too. And we both can't be Captain, now can we?"

She did have a point there. Never, have there been two soccer captains on the same team. Sure there have been two captains, one on the team, one off, but I'm pretty sure that we'd both make the team. We were good players, "Yeah sure. That's true."

"So here's how I see it," she started, "We play a one on one game right now an who ever wins, gets to be captain."

"Umm...I don't know if you've noticed but the coach gets to chose, not us. So whoever gets chosen will be because of her," I said. I really did not want a competition at the moment.

"Hmm I guess," she gave me a cold stare, "May the best girl win."

I stared her down. Eventually I won, of course, and she stalked off.

"What was that about?" Cas replied.

"Oh you know. Random Kara stuff. She's going for captain too," I said nonchalantly.

"She is just so full of it," Cas scoffed, "Don't worry, you'll make it for sure."

"Oh I know I will. But I'm tired of her always competing with me. I mean once or twice is fine but after the sixtieth time it gets annoying. Plus she picks the stupidest thing to compete over," I rolled my eyes.

"Really?" Travis replied, "I think that she's kinda cute."

We all stared at him in disgust. He noticed our looks and shrugged.

"What? I'm just being honest."

"Cute and Kara in the same sentence is grammatically incorrect," Kiki said flatly.

"Well so much for sharing everything with you guys," he muttered under his breath.

"It's not like we disapprove Trav," I said reassuringly, "It's just, she's been quite the bitch to me and it was just a surprise."

"Yeah well I didn't say that I liked her or anything."

"True."

There was a long pause. Finally Kiki broke the silence.

"How about we go over to the Smoothie Bar? I could use one right now. I'm super starved from all of that practice."

Travis glanced over at Kiki, "What do you mean by practice? You sat on the bleachers."

Kiki looked mock offended, "Hey, I practiced my cheering that should count!"

"Sure Kiki, sure it counts."

-))()-()((-

_October 15th_

"Okay girls! We're going to do a running drill," Coach Wright yelled, "Now here's how it works. You are going to take a soccer ball off the rack. Then you are going to dribble the ball over to the end of the field. You're going to kick the ball into your hands then boot it to the middle of the field. Next run to your ball and shoot at net. We'll do this individually with a switch of goalie every three shooters. Let's move!"

There was a mad rush to get into line. Surprisingly there was a big turn out. A mix of grade sevens and grade eights. Of course though, it was the varsity team and supposedly only for grade eights but some of the grade sevens would make it, if and only if, they had major skill. I was obviously one of those talented students when I tried out last year. That meant that this year, there was no doubt that I would make the team. It was just the captain spot that caught my eye. Kara and I were the only two returning members so it really was a battle between the both of us.

"Shelby right?" a girl in front of me asked. She had short black hair and pale, almost translucent skin. Her full-shaped lips were curved in a friendly grin. She looked oddly out of character in her gym uniform, on the soccer field. She looked like she would fit on a fashion runway instead.

"Um yeah," I gave a shy smile. How did she know my name?

"My name is Sage. I heard that you were one of the potential captains this year."

"Uhh I guess. Where'd you hear that from?"

I didn't really need to ask but I had to confirm my suspicion. Yup I was right. She pointed at dark headed girl, who was currently doing her drill, "Kara. She's telling every how she'll kick you ass and become captain."

"Hmm...well that's not a very captain-ish leadership," I muttered.

"I know," she replied glaring in Kara's direction, "Even though I'm only in grade six, I can still tell that she's a witch," she refrained from swearing.

That caught my surprise, "Grade six? And you're allowed to try out?"

"The coach saw my playing soccer in Phys-Ed class. She said that I should try out. Apparently I'm a good player," she shrugged.

"Do you play soccer outside of school?"

"Nope. Just for fun."

"Wow. Well if you need any help, ask me. I can honestly tell you that if you make the team, then you will definitely be one popular gal," I murmured as we reached the from of the line. It was her turn.

"Wish me luck," she grinned.

She set out, jogging to the ball racks. She scooped one up dropped it on the ground, immediately starting the drill. She ran like a cheetah, dribbling the ball down the field with impressive speed. She reached the end and had a bit of trouble trying to get the ball into her hands. Eventually she did and she booted the ball.

It flew across the field.

It was amazing. She scurried to the sailing ball and got there before it landed. Using this advantage, she jumped and headed the ball, towards the net. Unfortunately, Caitlin, the goalie, kicked the ball out of the net's way before it could make it.

Still...I was impressed.

Grade six. No soccer training. She reminded me of myself at that age.

Coach Wright nodded with a knowing smile and scribbled something on her clipboard.

"Trinity, you're next. Give me something to tell the other coaches," she winked at me.

I'd already done that drill many times that I had gone into the habit of adding an extra touch, something to remember. Last year I headed the ball into the net, just as Sage had done. Except of course, it went actually into the net.

Unfortunately though, I didn't watch Kara's drill. I was talking to Sage. I didn't want to do a repeat of what Kara had done. That would be a major NO. Kara knew every move that I knew.

Except for one.

It was risky. Let's just say that if it went wrong, I could break something. It was a move that I saw while watching FIFA last summer. Ever since then, I practiced that move. And I finally got it mastered. I didn't show anyone, not even Travis, who begged and pleaded. But it was finally time to try it.

I took a breath. Take a chance Shelby, I reminded myself.

I gave a sharp nod to the coach and went over to the ball rack. I gave a slight tap to the rack with my foot and, as I expected, a ball dropped and rolled over to my feet.

Immediately, I started sprinting, my head up, watching my surroundings. I didn't need to look down at my feet, dribbling a soccer ball came to me as naturally as walking. In no time at all, I was at the end of the field, kicking the ball into my arms. Then, I took a slow breath.

This is it, I thought, no turning back.

Effortlessly, I booted the ball towards the other end of the field, where the goalie was waiting, nervously. I ran as fast as I could to the right position and turn around, so my back was to the net. I was in a good place so I continued my plan. I jumped up and flipped my body in the air, doing a backflip. The ball flew down, just in time, and my outstretched leg made contact in mid flip. I snapped my leg and the back zoomed in the direction of the large net. I landed on my feet and turned around, to see the ball hit the netting of the goal.

It worked. Inside, I was ecstatic, but outside I tried to keep my cool. Around me, teammates, onlookers, and teachers clapped and cheered, clamorously.

As I jogged over to the sidelines, Coach Wright patted me on the back, "Very good job Shelby. Now that, was something worth watching."

I grinned. And in that moment, I knew who would be the captain.

-))()-()((-

_October 29th_

Travis and I ran through the halls of Ralston, to get to the sports hall. Kiki was studying for drama class and Cassie was in the library, doing a history project. Travis had volunteered to check the sports list with me. After all, he needed to check his football results.

There wasn't large crowd milling around, it was only 7:30 after all. Travis and I had planned to come as soon as the lists were posted, so we'd be the first people to know. As early as it was, my excitement gave me energy.

I checked through the lists. Basketball...Football...Field Hockey...Boy's Junior Varsity soccer...Boy's Varsity team. I stopped and scanned that list. Dan had made it.

Anyways, I finally found my list. Sage Enright...she made it! I was secretly very proud of her. Of course Kara made it. I did as well. I went straight to the bottom of the list.

There, in block letters, it said:  
>THIS YEAR'S CO-CAPTAINS ARE—<p>

Huh wait a minute...CO-captains? As in TWO people?

SHELBY TRINITY AND DAN SOTOVSKY.

I stood there, staring at that page for who knows how long.

"Shelby?"

I looked up to see Travis's worried face.

"What?" I shook myself out of that trance.

"Did you get it?"

I nodded and started to smile, "I did!"

He smiled back, "I knew you would."

"Well technically I'm a co-captain."

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Dan is the other captain."

"What? But he's a guy?"

"I know," I said in a small voice.

"But your not complaining," he gave me a knowing grin. I elbowed him in the stomach.

"No I'm not," I smirked, "So how did you do?"

He looked down. I caught a glimpse of solemn-ness, "I made the team. As a quarterback."

"Then why do you look so sad?"

"Because _I_was named captain," a small grin appeared on his face.

Right then I couldn't control my excitement. Both for him and myself. I literally jumped on Travis, hugging him and laughing at the same time. To the unfortunate onlooker, it may have looked a smudge crazy, kind of a psychopath killer on the loose. But it felt good. Travis held me as we both laughed hysterically. I felt like nothing at all could bring me down. I was on top of the world.

"Aww. So sweet. You two are such a cute couple," a voice behind us whined. Kara. I couldn't wait to see her face when she found out that I was name captain. Erm...co-captain, "Now if you two could move please. Your public display of affection is making me gag. Some of us want to see the lists."

I turned around. She was waiting impatiently while tapping at her phone. I gave her a sympathetic look, "Alright. Go ahead."

Travis and I moved away, but stayed close enough to see her reaction. Kara scanned the list and found her name. But right at that moment, she did something that made my gut twist.

She smiled. Not a genuine smile but a malevolent, crafty grin.

It scared me.

A lot.

"Did you see the list Kara?" Travis asked, noticing her smile, "Because frankly, I don't think that you have a reason to be happy."

"Oh. I do. Just wait and see," Kara waved a snobby goodbye and walked briskly away while texting someone. No doubt one of her friends.

Travis glanced at me, "What does she mean?"

"I have no idea."

And I honestly did NOT want to know.

-))()-()((-

"So as captains, you basically run the teams, junior varsity and varsity, when I can't be here. You also run warm ups and help me with the line-ups for games. I know it's a big responsibility but I'm sure you two can handle it," Coach Wright took a breath and looked at us expectantly.

Dan and I sat in her brightly lit office. It was our first meeting. The coach had just run through the different things that we had to do. We were more than just leaders, we were also organizers.

Great. I'm organized. Kind of.

Okay not really. I'll learn.

Dan cleared his throat, "Coach Wright, if I may, why exactly am I here? I mean I know I'm a captain but why? I'm not captain of my team."

"Well I knew that Shelby could handle everything but your here to assist her and have a boy's opinion on things. We have a strong team this year. And with strong leadership, we could make to nationals."

"So Dan and I will be working on everything together?" I asked.

Please say yes!

The coach shrugged, "Pretty much. Is that a problem?"

No, no it isn't. In fact, Dan is my further husband so this works out perfectly.

I shook my head, "Nope I'm fine if Dan is okay?"

He grinned, "I'm cool with it."

"Awesome! So for the first Varsity meeting, I want you two to organize a drill. I want to work on dribbling. You should start now if you two aren't busy."

-))()-()((-

Ten minutes later, Dan and I were on the soccer field with the rack of balls, ready to go. We exchanged ideas. Both of us had done many dribbling drills so it was just a matter of combining some favourites. Finally, we got together a drill and we were practicing it.

"Whoa. This drill is amazing," I exclaimed, "We are going to blow some minds at practice."

He laughed, "Definitely," he kicked the ball up and kneed is towards me. I headed it back. We did that for a while. Randomly passing the ball to each other in unique ways. But it easily grew boring. I decided to spice thing up a bit.

When he passed the ball to me I received it and starting to sprint passed him, towards the net. Though I totally forgot that Dan was probably ten times faster than me. I felt a strong grip wrap around my waist.

Oh my _god_. Dan is holding me!

Wow, nice thought.

I tried struggling but instead he lifted me up so that I couldn't reach the ball. We were laughing now.

"Hey guys," a voice sounded behind us.

Gee, way to ruin a good moment Travis.

"Oh hey man," Dan said as he dropped me. No literally. He _dropped_me. I landed with a thud on my knees.

Travis came over and helped me up, "I was wondering if you guys were finished. Maybe we could go to Cafe Blue and hang out."

I looked at Dan. He shrugged, "I want to but I really got to go," he looked nervously at Travis, "Oh and about before, I'm sorry. It really won't happen again. I forgot. Please don't beat me up."

He sprinted away without another word.

"What?" Travis finally said.

"I have no idea," I answered.

That was weird.

-))()-()((-

_November 2nd_

"Good landing Shelby. Are you sure that you don't want to join the gymnastics team?"

I recovered, "I want to, but now that I'm captain of the soccer team, I don't have much time."

"Understandable. But just so you know, you can use the facility anytime you want. I trust you with the equipment. In fact here," Ms. Anderson, coach of the gym team gave me a wink and a smile along with a silver key, "Use this to get into the gym. I know you like to train early."

I stared at the tiny key in my hand, "You have no idea how much this means to me. I love gymnastics. It helps me stay in shape and vent out my issues at the same time," I grinned.

"Oh I know all about it. I'm just a bit disappointed because if you continued this during high school, you could have been at an Olympic level."

"Oh don't worry; I have no intention of dropping gym at all. I'll continue during high school. I'm starting self defence on the side and I sure my gymnast skills will come in handy."

I grinned to myself. Who knows? Maybe in a couple of years I'll be a full-blown ninja.

* * *

><p><strong>Hehe...I just <em>had<em> to put in that bit about the ninja. It was so asking for it. **

**Anyways, I've had a lot of feedback about the chapter lengths and a lot of you guys want them to be shortened. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that it's really hard to do that. The way that I've written the chapters is that I have them really long because they have a lot of plot. Looking at the overall story...it's only going to have around 20 chapters. But...I've been working at spliting up some longer ones so I'm hoping that it works out! **

**Hope you liked this chapter! **

**Here are some questions to make you think:**

**-What is Kara up to?**

**-DanXShelby. Is it going to happen?**

**-Why did Dan run away when Travis came?**

**All good question...I look forward to your answers ;D**

**Well the next chap shall be arriving in around... 2 to 3 weeks. Can't wait until then!**

**READ AND REVIEW! **

**~Reensie17 (^_^)**


	4. Chapter 4: Laura 2a

**Here's another chappy of Laura! Now you are probably wondering why I've named it "Laura 2a". Well that's because I've taken the advice of some of you to shorten my chapters. Now I've said that it's really hard to do so…so I came up with the idea of posting "half chapters". Today I'm posting the first half of the chapter and then some time during the week, I'll post the other half of this chapter! If this idea gets good feedback, then I'll do this to all of my chapters.**

**Enjoy Laura's next adventure!**

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><p><em><strong>~The Morning Show, a New Friend and a Friday-Night Date~<strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Cameron actually seemed...nice.<em>

_Impossible._

_Oh well, nothing but some geography to soothe the brain._

* * *

><p><em>October 8th<em>

"Heeellllloooo students! Welcome to another day of academics! It is currently 9:00 on the dot which means..." Music erupted from the TV screen, "The Mac Allaster Prep Morning Show! I'm your host, Ginger Eves, and this morning we have some special guests!" The camera zoomed out to reveal a group of mostly nervous students.

I sighed and opened my locker. The MAP Morning Show ALWAYS started off the first show by announcing the new students. As if they weren't already nervous. They were about to be revealed to the entire school. Thank goodness, though, they didn't announce the tiny grade ones who were joining the school for their first year- it would have taken forever! There were like thirty of them!

I surveyed the group. It was small this year. Obviously everyone was under grade four (MAP didn't usually accept older students).

Hey, what about that tall kid in the back? Sure enough, there was the blonde American student. Cameron, I thought? I guessed he was an exception to the rules. His parents were probably filthy rich.

"All righty! We are all ready to begin," she started to call up the students by their age. She did a small, two-minute interview with each of them. I zoned out and started rearranging my locker. It was messy. Finally, Cameron was up. He was last, being the oldest and all. I was interested to hear what juicy questions Ginger had to offer.

"So Cameron- may I call you Cam?" she asked, flashing her best journalist smile. She was an upperclassman. Probably leaving this year. Someone would have to fill some large shoes, next year.

Cameron started at her, clearly taken aback by the question, "No. It's Cameron. Just Cameron," he replied. It wasn't mean, nor smug.

"Okay," Ginger cleared her throat, "What grade are you in, _CAMERON_?"

"Eight."

"And this is your first year at MAP?" she tilted her head to the side a bit. She did this when digging a particularly large hole, metaphorically speaking.

"Yes. It is," he replied.

"So how is it that you got accepted here?" The golden question was asked. I could tell that most of the students around me were watching the screen as intently as I was.

"Irrelevant."

Ginger blinked, "What?"

"That question is irrelevant. It doesn't matter _how_ I got accepted. It does, however, matter that I _am_here now at MAP to learn. Just as any other student here," he spoke in a flat tone.

"Right... well, what kind of family do you have at home? Anyone significant? Anyone we may have heard about on TV?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on the channel."

I had to admit, I was rather impressed by his ways of sidestepping the tough questions. Ginger had given up asking deep questions and instead, she focused on her usual, boring and shallow questions. Clearly, this interview wasn't going as she had planned. They went on about favourite foods, restaurants, shops and more. The most entertaining question was when Ginger asked Cameron about his dream girlfriend. He replied by saying someone down-to-earth who understands him. Ginger didn't look too impressed.

Finally it was finished.

"Thank you, Cameron, for being here with us. It was a real...interesting experience," Ginger said sourly. She was always looking for a good show.

"It certainly was," he said quietly.

The camera zoomed into Ginger as she started the normal announcements, "And now I'll let Cory Fowler take over with the sports news!"

"Thanks, Gingey," he winked at the pissed-off girl. Nobody called Ginger, 'Gingey'. But somehow Cory got away with it.

"This week is going to be a week full of sport-tastic clubs and team try outs! So if you want to be on a particular team, then listen up!" he started to list off a bunch of team meetings and such.

Personally, I was athletically challenged, as Chloe had so bluntly put it. I didn't bother listening for sports try-outs. They weren't my thing.

While I was mindlessly organizing my Science texts, heard what I was looking for.

"And we'll hand it now to Joyce Snide with club news!" This time, I perked up.

"Good morning students! I will start off the day with some science club meetings," Joyce, a brown haired, German tenth grader, started, "For any one interested in joining the science council, a meeting will be held today at 4:30 in Physics A, room 1105."

Science council was okay. I joined it in grade six. It was boring, spending our time, measuring out chemicals for classes and creating strange posters for "Environmental Awareness." No, what I was waiting for came next.

"Tech Committee, there is a meeting at lunch today. Only members may attend. No new members allowed," Joyce replied.

Today. Lunch. Got it.

I smiled and closed my locker.

The countdown 'till lunch started now.

-))()-()((-

_October 17th_

"Laura!" Mr. McDarvas greeted me with a grand smile. He only saved those for his special students, "My star techy! How have you been?"

"Very good, Mr. D, nice to see you," I grinned back.

"Fantastic! The youngest member should in fact stay in top shape!" Tech club was reserved for upperclassmen only. I was the exception, ever since Mr. D substituted for Mrs. Haney in grade six tech. He noticed my talent right away and ever since, I've been his 'young prodigy.'

"Brand!" I felt someone ruffle my hair. That could only mean one thing: Noah. He was two years my senior, had cropped dark brown hair and mesmerizing green eyes. But didn't like him THAT way. Definitely not. He had a girlfriend. Chloe, being Chloe, constantly bugged me about him ALL the time. Apparently we'd make a cute couple. He was the closest, age wise, in the club. So naturally, we created a close bond.

"How's my little prodigy doing?" he asked, mocking Mr. D.

"It's 'young prodigy'," I replied, laughing, "I'm great! How are you?"

"Well I'm better now that you're here," he winked at me. Did I mention that he was a compulsive flirt? Usually I'd be appalled and slightly pissed by that comment, but I had known Noah long enough that it was expected.

"Good to know," I muttered, just as Mr. D was about to make an announcement.

"Members! Thank you very much for coming out this year! I know, we started a bit late, it's almost November for goodness sakes! Well…it's the middle of October…" he trailed off, "Anyways, as you know, we don't usually invite students younger than high school grade to join," he smiled at me, "But we are very grateful to have Laura. She is a real genius," I blushed and Noah elbowed me and had a small smirk, "And this year, I've invited another 8th grader to join us."

I could feel the curiosity rise in the room. Who was this kid? I knew everyone in the eighth grade and none of them were tech savvy. Unless Mandy possessed some sort of hidden talent. I hoped silently that this was not the case.

"He's really excited to join and meet all of you!" I breathed a sigh of relief. Good, it wasn't Mandy, "Laura and Noah, I would like you to personally mentor him. Is that alright?"

Noah and I nodded in agreement. But our curiosity was at a new high.

"Now unfortunately, he couldn't join us today but he'll be here at our next meeting. Which by the way is next Wednesday," he reminded us.

"But 'oo is zees person?" Cherrie Pierce asked. She was a twelfth grade honour student from France. She was incredible with our design and organizational programs.

"His name is Cameron and I want all of you to make him welcome," he replied, "That's all I wanted to talk about. We will start a formal meeting next week. You are allowed to socialize!"

My heart sank, "Seriously? Is this guy stalking me?" I groaned to Noah.

"What's the matter? If he's a creeper, then I swear, I'll beat him up," He said darkly.

I laughed, "No. No. Nothing like that," I told him everything, from all of our courses together, to our dorm rooms on the same floor, to my suspicions of Mandy brainwashing him.

"Ooh, tough. And you don't even know him yet?" He asked when I finished.

"Well...not really," I said with a sigh, "I haven't really introduced myself yet."

"Then that's your problem! How do you know if he's an egotistical jerk if you don't even know him?"

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"You know, Laura, I may not give a lot of advice, but when I do, it's gold," he flashed a winning smile.

-))()-()((-

"Working hard or hardly working?" a voice interrupted my reading. I decided to ignore the male tone and continued reading my thrilling novel about demographic transitions. No doubt it was one of Mandy's guys, just trying to get a laugh.

"Hel-looo? Anyone there?" he waved his arms in front of my face. I quickly hit them away. "Okay, okay. That may have been unnecessary."

"You think?" I flipped a stray curl of hair out of my face as I put down my book to finally face my annoyance. It was Cameron. Okay so maybe this kid was a stalker. Well, at least I didn't have to take Noah's advice of introducing myself.

I still didn't understand why everyone was falling head over heels for this guy. Maybe because of his accent, or his soft blonde hair. Or maybe it was his sparkling turquoise eyes...ooh stop it Laura, you aren't one of _those_ girls.

"Umm...so what are you reading?" he said innocently.

"Just cut to the chase, please?" I snapped.

"Right," he sat down in the chair across from me, "So...um...I don't know how to say this. I've...seen you, before." he paused. Time for me to say something.

"Aye...that's warming...considering I'm in some of your classes...and tech club," I add sourly.

"Actually, you're in all of my classes," He took a long breath, "You aren't like the other girls. You're...different."

"I hope so," I said with dignity. I hated to even be brought up with those...witches. All of them, in my class at least, were boy crazy, makeup-loving, ditzy, bubble-brained people. Barbies, that's what Chloe and I called them. They were all Mandy's followers. I sure hoped that I wasn't like them.

"Yeah. The ladies are all over me...you aren't one of them," he didn't say it with ego, surprisingly. He said it with...curiosity.

"Erm...thank you. I think," this conversation was getting more and more awkward by the minute, "Is that good or bad?"

Might as well make this talk even more awkward.

"It's...good. I feel like I can actually make a legitimate conversation with you," He said, clearly taken aback with the question.

"Aye, alright," A grin pulled at my cheeks.

"I've never seen you smile before," he observed. Immediately I frowned, "Darn, it left," he muttered.

"Well it's only the second month of school so I expect you haven't seen much of me."

"I've seen enough."

"To do what?"

"To make a proper assumption of you. Look I just wanted to say, I hope that we can be good friends in the near future. We see a lot of each other during the day. We might as well as be on good terms," He whispered with a smile.

"Um, okay. That seems okay," Find another word to use, Laura, "Just one question: Who are you?"

Of course I knew who he was, but I couldn't help but inwardly smile when an incredulous look appeared onto his face. Finally, after a long pause, he answered, "The name's Cameron, Cameron Young,"

"Nice to formally meet you, Cameron," I spoke while extending my hand over the table. After looking at it, quizzically, his face lit up in a wide grin and he took it, in a firm, but friendly shake.

"Nice to formally meet you too, Laura."

"Wait," I started, "How do you know my name?"

He gestured to my handmade "Laura" bookmark lying on the table. I found that guy at our farmer's market. It was a good buy, "Plus apparently you are my Tech mentor. And you're in all my classes," he reminded me again.

"Ahh, right..."

He chuckled and stood up, "I'll see you around." I nodded. He walked briskly out of the library.

I sat there, extremely numb, staring at the place where he sat. I was confused. Cameron actually seemed...nice.

Impossible.

Oh well, nothing but some geography to soothe the brain.

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><p><strong>So basically…Short Chapters + Shorter Waiting Time. Sound good? ;)<strong>

**Review please! Tell me what you think about everything!**

**~Reensie17 (^_^)**


	5. Chapter 5: Laura 2b

**Hey guys...sorry for my tardiness... :( Life's been a tornado, and not a cool one. Well...slightly cool. But anyways I'm sorry for not posting it soon after and I hope that you all can forgive me...**

**This chap is dedicated to StarkidHufflepuff: Thanks for reminding me :) You weren't at all buggin me! I'm actually in debt to you...I may have sort of temporarily forgot about posting last week :S Gosh, feel soo embaressed...**

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><p><em>October 19th<em>

"Laura!" Chloe ran into the girl's Fire Lounge. I looked up from the instant messaging chat that I was having with Noah. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed in the Fire Lounge. It was for girls anyways.

We had four lounges in the grade 8 building: The Fire Lounge, The Ice Lounge, The Tearoom, The Dayroom. The Fire Lounge was for girls only and The Ice Lounge was for guys only. Both the Tearoom and The Dayroom were co-ed, although the Tearoom was more leaned towards couples. Large loveseats, lacy pink curtains and café spots for two backed up my theory. So far I'd only make it to the Fire and Dayroom. Out of those two, the Fire was my favourite. Its colour scheme was all white with a few bright red and orange accents here and there. They had the comfiest seats, the best views (a wall was covered with floor to ceiling windows) and the warmest fireplace. It was a good place to cuddle up with a good book and read. Which is what I planned to do anyways.

I typed a quick goodbye to Noah and closed my laptop. My attention had turned to Chloe. What she was about to say must have been important, for her eyes were bulged and surprised.

"What's the matter, Chloe?" I asked.

"Mandy broke up with Brain!" She replied, quick and loud.

"What?" I gasped, "Seriously? Why would she do that? Brain is amazing!"

It was true. Brain Welsh was handsome, athletic and super nice.

"I have no idea," She muttered, "But my sources said that she broke up with him before classes this morning. Ever since, her Barbies have been forming a protected wall around her so that Brain couldn't beg for her back!"

I sighed, "Why would guys even bother with her? She's nothing but drama. Drama and trouble."

"It completely annoys me to death. But guess what?"

"What is it now?" I was tired of talking about her.

"She's making a move towards you-know-who," she whispered.

"Wait, what?" I asked confused. Chloe made no sense at some points.

"Cameron! She's going out with him tonight!" She threw her hands up in the air with exaggerated exasperation.

"I told you," I said simply.

Chloe stood there with her mouth wide open, "How could you sit there not caring?"

"Because I hardly know him. He's only ever talked to me once," Oops. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't told her about the library inncident.

"When?" She asked suspiciously.

I filled her in. After the story, she stood there, silent.

"It wasn't a big deal," I said quietly.

"I'm so jealous of you right now," was all that she said. She got up and moved towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Dinner with John," she turned and winked.

Of course, leave it to Mandy to have a Friday night date.

She left me alone. Literally alone. There was no one else in the room. Everyone was out and about.

Suddenly I heard a tiny Ping. I opened my laptop and saw a notification:

_Noah has sent you a chat request._

I smiled and accepted.

Noah: _Hey Laura._

Laura: _Hello._

Noah: _Not out and about this evening?_

I smiled.

Laura: _Nope but I could ask you the same thing._

Noah: _No nothing tonight._

Laura: _Not even a date with Abby?_

Noah: _Oh…she dumped me yesterday._

I winced. What was up with all of these break-ups?

Laura: _I'm sorry :(_

Noah: _Don't be :) I'm better of without her._

Laura: _Yeah…I guess…_

Noah: _Do you want to hang out tonight? Maybe dinner and a movie?_

My heart skipped a beat.

Laura: _Of course!_

Noah: _Cool I'll be at your dorm in ten minutes ;)_

Laura: _Great! See you then!_

_Noah has signed off._

I glanced at the conversation again. Did Noah actually just ask me out? Me? Laura Brand? The nerd? I giggled quietly. I skipped happily to my dorm.

-))()-()((-

Twenty minutes later, we were comfortably seated in MAP's best restaurant. Chez Amour Pour Vous was the best restaurant on campus! Well…the best middle school available restaurant on campus.

"Wow, I haven't been here in a while," I gasped as I looked around at the beautiful scenery. We were outside in the courtyard. There were flowers and fountains everywhere. I watched as the sunset reflected beautifully off of the misty owl fountain closest to our table.

"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of me. I had no idea what he was staring at. I was just wearing a copper-coloured dress that my mom got me a while ago, paired with some black flats. It wasn't overly formal yet it wasn't that casual either. You wouldn't see me going to class in that outfit, that's for sure.

"It sure is," I breathed.

"I'm glad that we could get together today. To tell you the truth, I was lonely. All my guy friends were out somewhere," he turned his attention towards me.

"The same with me," I laughed, "Chloe is having dinner with John."

"John Perkins?" he raised an eyebrow. John was in his year and pretty high up on the popular scale. Noah chuckled, "Leave it to Chloe get a guy like him."

I laughed in agreement, "Yup."

Our waiter greeted us with glasses of water and asked politely for our order. Of course, I already knew what I was having. I ordered the soup, salad and bread special. Noah ordered the same.

"What soup would you like?" the waiter asked me.

"Black bean," I replied. I turned to Noah.

"Hmmm…I think I'll have the Cream of Mushroom."

The waiter scribbled the order on his pad, "Salad and bread?"

"Garden salad and garlic bread please," I smiled sweetly at him.

"Ditto," Noah winked at me.

"Okay, your orders should come soon," the waiter left us.

Noah watched him walk away then turned back to me, "Nice order you got. I like a girl who's got a big appetite," he said jokingly.

"Yup! I don't eat small!" I grinned.

"I really dislike girls who have small appetites. It's like they think they're fat or something. And most of them aren't, by the way." I chuckled at his awkwardness.

I glanced behind Noah. Two people walked up to the table there, "Oh god. Speaking of small appetites."

Noah turned around, "Is that Cam and Mandy?"

"Aye it—hold on. Cam?" I questioned.

"Yeah…he introduced himself. You know, he's a pretty awesome kid. It'll be fun mentoring him," he spoke sheepishly.

"Aye, he did it to me too," I sighed, "Maybe he isn't that bad. But I'm still keeping my guard up."

"You do that, Laura," he was obviously amused by my thinking. I guess I was overreacting.

"_Ohmygosh_, Cammy, this is an _ah-mazing_ spot. It's _soo_ pretty and _mostly_ private," Mandy threw a subconscious glare at our table.

"Yeah, whatever," I heard Cameron mumble. He glanced at our table. I saw a look of recognition and confusion cross his face as he realized whom he was staring at. Noah and I gave a small wave to him. He immediately snapped out of his trance, smiled and waved back. Mandy noticed and gave us a death-look. We got the message.

"Poor Cameron," I muttered.

"I know right? Let's just focus on having a good time," he jerked his thumb towards Mandy's table. We wouldn't want her to ruin our perfectly good not lonely Friday."

"Too true," I raised my water glass to my lips.

Our order came and we ate, chatting and having fun the whole time. I loved spending time with Noah. Everything felt so relaxed and nice. And I admit, my crush on him did slightly leap up a couple notches.

All through the meal, we had the occasional whine from Mandy but other than that, our date was free of distractions. It wasn't until after Noah paid and we left that things got interesting.

We were walking toward my dorm, laughing about silly things that we had done when we were children.

"What? You seriously ate a ladybug?" He gasped.

"Aye. My mom was freaking out afterwards. She dragged me to the doc's office," I giggled.

"Well I can only imagine how nervous she'd be," He said seriously.

We made it to the Dayroom and plopped down on a soft couch. Surprisingly, the room wasn't quite empty. There were a few people hanging around, playing pool, watching rugby, etc.

"How so?" I asked.

"She would be devastated if anything bad happened to her little girl," he smiled.

"I suppose. Though it's not like I was gonna die anyways. The doc said I'd be fine. Babies did it all the time," I shrugged.

"Yes well please don't try anything like that at this age."

"I promise."

Noah came closer to me, "Laura I—"

"LAURA!" I voice travelled into the Dayroom. I snarled. If Noah was about to kiss me, I swear I would have kill whoever interrupted us.

Chloe came running into the room, with a piece of paper dangling between her fingertips.

"What is it now Chloe?" I sighed.

"This letter came from your parents. It's urgent," She said, stuffing it in my face.

"Wait. What about your date?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Eh. I ditched him. He was a terrible kisser anyways. Now open the letter!" She said impatiently.

"Okay!" I fumbled to open the annoying envelope. Finally I tossed it to Noah who opened it as easily as opening a book. I quickly scanned through its content. Finally I looked up, dazed. I was in shock.

"What is it?" Chloe urged.

"My mom. She's pregnant. With twins," I managed to whisper.

* * *

><p><strong>It's because of all you readers out there who love this story that I actually continue writing :) Writing comes so naturally with this story. You could say that it just "writes itself". However posting is another story (hehe punny). I get too lazy at times and I know that sounds terrible but hey, let's face it, most of us have spells of laziness ;D<strong>

**Reviews don't only help me write, but they also help me post! :D **

**"Dreaming is the first step to success"**

**~Reensie17 (^_^)**


	6. Chapter 6: Shelby 3a

**Bonjour! **

***WARNING LARGE RANT BELOW***

**I know I haven't updated in...well a month (it's a been a month already?) BUT! I got a good reason...**

_**Exams**_**...the soul sucking menace of school. I literally spent a month before school studying my butt off (locked in my room with green tea lemonade and a bar of dark chocolate to keep me sane). The thing is, my school is semestered so I only had to do TWO exams. But those two exams couldn't have been more...bleh. Science and Geography. *sigh* I wish they followed the rules of the olden days when you got over a 90% in a subject, you didn't have to take the exam. Life would be a breeze for me... One of my friends calculated our marks if we, say, got a 0 on the exam...yeah we'd still pass (our mark would drop significantly though). The only thing that our class was stressed about though was our mark dropping from the exam. So failing wasn't really an option here.**

**Living with a class of smart people. We are all nerds at heart 3 **

***My rant is complete***

**StarkidHufflepuff, thanks again for keeping me on check. **

**And now that summer is here, I plan to write more and *hopefully* update more. :)**

**Another thing: my spelling and grammar have been discusting lately...**

**Please don't hate me guys... :/**

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><p>~<em><strong>Invitations, The Drama-less Drama Queen and<strong> _**Clicks to Make my Head Ache~**

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><p><em>Soon we were stuffing our mouths with fruit.<em>

_I know, real ladylike right?_

_Well at least we weren't stuffing our faces with FRICKEN!_

* * *

><p><em>November 17th<em>

Hey Shelly, there's some mail down here for you," Greg called from downstairs. I was upstairs, on a quiet Sunday morning in my room, on my laptop, playing some mindless game.

I tend to get bored a lot.

"I'm busy. Bring it up to me," I yelled back.

Busy…yeah we'll go with that…

"Uhh no. I don't care if you get your mail. Hmm...maybe since you don't want to look at it, I'll take a peak."

Oh no he didn't. He just pulled that card, didn't he?

I ran downstairs and grabbed the letter out of Greg's hand.

"Thanks," I smiled sweetly.

Greg should not mess with me. I could kick his ass. No really, all of those younger years of karate paid off. Last year in gym when we were doing fighting, (what kind of a gym unit is that?) I beat everyone. Everyone! Okay well not everyone. That one ninja Asian kid beat me. But it wasn't fair; I swear he's a ninja.

Anyways Greg. Be aware. One day...erm night, when you are sleeping, I'll pop up all ninja-like and kick your ass. Be afraid.

Why do I even think of these things?

"Shelby? Are you alright?" Greg asked. Apparently I was standing at the foot of the stairs with a devious look on my face.

"Be afraid Greg," I yelled at him then ran upstairs, leaving my very confused brother behind.

-))()-()((-

The first thing I noticed about the letter was that it was important. Made out of very high priced paper. You know the type that is made for wedding invites or graduating certificates. That type.

The envelope was a royal maroon colour with dark lace running down one side. In thin, silver cursive writing, the word Shelby Trinity was scrawled across the paper.

I carefully peeled off the wax seal on the back and opened the envelope. Looking in, there were two pieces of paper. I read the first one.

_Dear Miss Trinity,_

_You and your family are cordially invited to the Gray Holiday Banquet._

I stopped reading right at that point.

I was _invited_? But kids are _never _invited. So what was different about this year? Perhaps were more mature. I smirked. Yeah right. I continued reading for details.

_The party will take place on December 25th at the Gray Banquet Palace. The doors will open at 6:00._

_Dinner will be served at 7:30. We have selected a variety of dishes to your liking. If you have any food concerns, please tell us immediately._

_At 9:00, we will have some entertainment in separate rooms including a fashion show presented by Kamari Fashions and dance shows by the Broadway Association. We will also be holding a silent auction._

_This year we are inviting children from the age of twelve. There will be an under eighteen room if they are interested in mingling with a younger crowd._

_Please note that this is a formal event, so any out of order behaviour will not be tolerated. Also note that if you are not in formal wear, you will not be admitted at the entrance._

Damn. That's a lot.

Excitement bubble through me. This party was the_ biggest_of the year and the fact that they were inviting younger people, meant that I wouldn't be bored. Though I could never be bored with Travis there…

_On the next page of the invitation, you will find your more banquet information as well as RSVP._

Pshh boring stuff. I don't need to read that.

I scurried downstairs to tell my parents. They were I'm the library, my mom reading one of her harlequin romance novels and sipping her herbal tea. My dad was on his laptop, probably managing his stocks.

"Mom! Dad! I got an invite!" I exclaimed.

My dad looking at me over his eye glasses, "Is that so? What is it for?"

"Gray Holiday Banquet!" I said excitedly.

"Ah yes, Bev told me yesterday that they were now accepted kids above a certain age," My mom took a sip of her tea, "I like this better actually because now we can all go as a family."

It's true. Every year, Kiki, Cas and I have a sleep over when all of our parents are at the party. I actually felt bad for Travis because he was forced to go. It was his family's party after all.

"Wait. Why was the invitation sent to me?" I asked. That question was on my mind.

"Well it's a tradition that the youngest female who is invited gets the invitation," dad explained.

"And I used to be the youngest until you got invited," my mother winked at me, gesturing for the envelope

I handed it to my mom, "Here. Ooh I'm sooooo excited!"

My mother laughed, "We all are Shelby. Ooh and I can't wait to find you a beautiful dress. How about sequins...no rhinestones! Oh and the colour has to be something tasteful. Green, Mauve, brown..."

Great. She's going to go on forever.

Fun.

Just for the record. I'm picking out my OWN dress.

-))()-()((-

_November 19th_

I met up with Kiki and Cas at lunch the next day. We all found ourselves in a café that was placed just off of the drama hall. Yeah, our school had random restaurants and cafes scattered around its campus.

But don't worry though, they were only located in the middle school division of campus. We wouldn't want those cute little first graders running around, high on coffee. Though that would be amusing...

What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, the café.

The café was entitled, _Le Nourriture de Regeim_, which I'm pretty sure meant "You want healthy food? Come here!" in French. Anyways, it was Kiki's favourite place.

Kiki ordered a fruit salad with a dark chocolate drizzle and a wild berry and greek yogurt protein shake. I guess she wanted something sweet...ish.

Cas ordered a potato and leek soup. It looked...interesting. On the side, she got a plate of stuffed mushrooms. Guess what they were stuffed with? Fricken. What is fricken exactly? FAKE chicken.

I had an organic tofu burger with sliced turnip fries.

At that point in time, I was craving a juicy hamburger. Or _anything _else for that matter.

Okay...scratch that. There was no way in hell that I would eat something called 'fricken'.

I'm starting to think that this place doesn't serve meat.

Anyways, we were all talking about the party.

"I'm pretty excited for this," Cas said, "Though...do I have to were a dress?"

I stared at her, "Umm...YEAH! It's a holiday party!"

"Oh," she looked disappointed.

Cas hated wearing dresses. Or skirts for that matter. This was very strange, considering that dresses were her main outfits for dance. She claimed that her dance outfits were "totally different than other dresses."

"Do you think that I can get off the hook if I wear a jumpsuit?" She said, deep in thought.

"NO! You honestly can't go to the party if you aren't wearing a dress!"

"Well then...maybe I won't go," she said stubbornly.

I was speechless.

"Besides," she continued, "My mom is out of town so she can't help me pick out a dress. She's coming back two days before the party."

"Come with me then," I offered, "My mom and I are going shopping next Friday. And we'll help you find something without frilly stuff or lace. We'll get you a totally low profile dress."

She thought about it for a while, "Fine," replied, "But if we don't find anything then I refuse to go."

That hard headed bitch.

I love her.

"Okay," I said nonchalantly. I turned to Kiki, "I would invite you Kiki but I heard that your mom is coming back on Friday to debut her Winter collection!"

Kiki stared blankly at her salad, as if she hadn't heard me at all.

"Kiki?" Cas waved a hand in front of her face.

Kiki looked up, startled, "What...?"

"What kind of dress is your mom making for you this year?" I asked.

"Dress?" Kiki replied, looking extremely disoriented.

"Yeah. Like colours, patterns, details girl! WE NEED DETAILS!" I pushed. Man, Kiki was she in a mood or something? Maybe it was her time of the month...

"Oh. I don't know," she said quietly.

That was odd. Kiki always knew the plan of her dresses. Mrs. Kamari made the coolest dresses. Last year, she had made Kiki's main play dress. It was gorgeous. It was turquoise (a tone that perfectly matched Kiki's skin), with a sequined and tucked bodice that made Kiki look full curved. The sleeves puffed out at the ends, making them look like a wave of water. Of course, wearing it outside of the play would be horrendous but the dress matched the play AND Kiki perfectly.

"Listen guys, I gotta...umm...go and practice my monologue for drama club," she hurriedly grabbed her purse and sprinted out.

That was weird. And it wasn't the first time that this had happened. Lately, Kiki has been disappearing to who knows where every so often during lunch.

"Wow. She didn't eat ANYTHING! AGAIN!" Cas explained.

I looked at her plate. It was true. She had hardly touched her salad and she had taken a sip or two of the shake.

I picked up a chocolate-drizzled strawberry.

What? I'm not gonna waste chocolate!

"Good idea," Cassie exclaimed, grabbing a piece of melon.

Soon we were stuffing our mouths with fruit.

I know...real ladylike right?

Well at least we weren't stuffing our faces with FRICKEN!

I suddenly froze.

Drama club didn't start until February. Why would Kiki be practicing now?

I sick feeling washed over me. She had lied, hadn't she?

A loud airy sound broke threw my thoughts.

I turned to see Cas drinking the shake. She stopped in mid sip when she saw me staring at her.

"What? This is WAY better than fricken stuffed mushrooms!"

True. Very true Cas.

Focus Shel.

Right.

"Cas, I'm going after Kiki. I need to talk to her," I said.

"Okay! See you later!" She replied as she continued to slurp down the shake.

I grabbed my bag and scurried out the restaurant.

The drama corridor just branched off of the cafe. I ran down there, occasionally checking each classroom. No sign of Kiki.

All of a sudden, someone grabbed my arm. Surprised, I was ready to kick who ever had my arm when I stopped suddenly. It was Dan.

"Hey!" He said, smiling, "Where are you off to in a hurry?"

I desperately looked over his shoulders, hoping to see Kiki. Then I remembered that he had asked me a question.

Smooth.

"Erm...I was just...looking for someone. Have you seen her," I replied dumbly.

He laughed, "It depends on who you're looking for."

I looked into his eyes. Those dreamy baby blues...I swear, I could see the ocean in those. Waves, lapping and seagulls cawing...

EARTH TO SHELBY!

"Uh...Kiki," I babbled, slowly returning to normal.

"Yeah actually, she went to the bathroom," he said.

"Thanks! I gotta run!"

"You do that!" He said with an amused expression.

I lamely sprinted past Dan and headed to the bathroom.

Oh god, I should have pieced this together a while back. I mean, the not eating, the constant complaining. And her mother coming home. The worry lines etched on her forehead.

I reached to the bathroom just as I heard the first sounds.

Someone gagging.

I tried to be as quiet as possible as I looked under the stalls. All of them were empty except for one. Kiki was in the last one.

If I timed this right, then I could properly spy on her without her knowing. Cas always said that I had a talent for that. Spying. Being quiet. Sneaky stuff like that.

Anyways, I stood by the middle of the stalls and listened.

Another gagging noise. This time a terrible smell wafted through the room.

Kiki was vomiting.

I didn't know that it was that bad. I started to freak out.

Finally after five minutes of plugging my nose, I heard the toilet flush. This was my cue. In one swift movement I went into a stall near the vanity and locked the door over the loud flush.

Looking through the slight gap between the door and the wall, I could see Kiki coming out of the stall, her eyes bloodshot and her lips chapped. She washed her hands, and mouth, of course. Then she splashed some water of her face. Next, she carefully reapplied her makeup. She exited the bathroom just as the warning bell rung, indicating that lunch was over.

-))()-()((-

Over the next couple of days, I kept quiet. I didn't tell ANYONE about the Kiki incident. I felt like I wanted to figure it out myself before I told anyone else.

The signs kept on running through my head.

1) Not eating much.

Well that could pretty much mean anything. Like perhaps that she's not hungry?

2) Vomiting.

The same event had happened on Wednesday. Once meant that she was sick. Twice? She could be sick but it was unlikely.

3) Not talking as much.

That was a big sign that something was wrong. Kiki was always so animated that when she wasn't, it was clear and obvious.

Alone, those signs could be anything.

But together...I had a pretty good sense of what was going on.

There was one more point though, that made no sense at all.

4) Being nervous about her mum.

Every time we brought up her mother, Kiki would hastily change the subject.

That was the one point that screwed all of my suspicions.

This whole thing was _screwed up._

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><p><strong>Interesting Chapter no? I decided to add a large confluct block in there. <strong>

**Review please :) Even if it's to say "hi". I will say "hi" back. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a "hi" back in a different language!**

**Sorry...I haven't eaten anything in the past 17 hours :/ I'm gonna go and make some tea.**

**Catch ya on the flip side! *literally***

**~Reensie (^_^)**


	7. Chapter 7: Shelby 3b

**Hi. **

**Here's the next chappy. Hopefully you guess didn't suffer from too much from Icanthandlethesuspense-o-phobia. ;)**

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><p><em>November 30th<em>

"How about this?" Cas held up a bright yellow jumpsuit, "Is this appropriate?"

"Eww put that back! You'll look like a banana. Yellow isn't even your colour!"

She sighed, "Fine."

"Look for something formal. Your colours are..." I surveyed her skin and hair, "Purple, navy, or green. Nothing red though, it will blend in with your hair. But for now, find a style that works...that jumpsuit...definitely _not_ works."

We were shopping at a local dress shop called, _'Robes en Vous'_.

Seriously. What is up with all these French names? We don't even live in France. Or Canada...

Anyways, it was a cute little shop that carried a variety of beautiful dresses as well as custom made dresses. We were obviously getting ours custom made. We were looking to see what kinds of styles and colours we liked. I was thinking of going with something blue or purple since it would complement my eyes.

"I just want the simplest dress possible," she exclaimed for the forteenth time.

"I understand that. But all the simple styles that I have found, you've hated!" I tried keeping my calm.

"Well they were all girly. I disliked them," she said stubbornly.

"Okay well it's hard to find something that's not-" I stopped mid sentence.

"What?" Cas looked over at me.

"I think I found it," I held up the dress. It was orange. An atrocious colour but the style was...perfect.

"I love it," Cas breathed, "Except for the colour of course."

I grinned, "That can be easily changed."

Score one for Shelby.

-))()-()((-

After ordering our dresses, we went for a walk, promising my mother that we would be back by dinner.

This was my chance. I was going to tell Cas about Kiki.

Now if you have ever been in a position kind of like this, you would perfectly well that its not the smartest to just blurt everything out. You had to try and wiggle it in bit by bit, then drop the bomb.

Gee, I really wish I knew that before.

"Cas, there's something wrong with Kiki," I dropped the bomb immediately. Smart, I know.

"What? No there isn't!" She exclaimed with a laugh. Cas had a smidge of a denial issue.

"Yes. There is," I said calmly.

"Ummm I don't think so," she said stubbornly.

"Listen. I have proof," I quickly told her all of the things I had noticed.

"Wait, you spied on her?" She yelled.

Okay. So obviously she wasn't listening to anything that I had just told her. Typical Cas.

"Well...yes. But that's not the point," I quickly retold Cassie the story of Kiki in the bathroom. When I finished, I looked at her for a reply.

Nothing.

Literally. Her face was blank.

Gee, I didn't think it was _that_ big of a deal.

"Cas? You okay there?"

I whipped around to see Travis, looking slightly concerned about Cas's appearance.

"What? Oh yeah I'm fine," Cas sputtered, looking slightly dazed and pale.

"Okay good," He looked at me questioningly.

I mouthed 'I will tell you later'.

He nodded but cocked his head to the side and pointed to himself, silently asking 'Was it me?'

I shook my head.

He flashed a thankful smile.

Wow. I think Travis and I just had a full-out silent conversation.

"Uhh guys, I don't feel so well. I'm gonna head home," Cas said. She looked perfectly okay. Mildly sick and shocked…but perfectly fine.

"Do you need a drive? I can call my mum," I asked, my hand in my purse, digging for my cell.

"No," she snapped. Then she looked at me apologetically, "I mean, no thank you. I need some air and time to think."

She walked off before we could say bye.

"Ohhh kay. Now that was weird," Travis said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "What was that all about again?"

"Long story," I said quietly.

Travis put an arm around my shoulder and squeezed me tight, "I like long stories. How about we go out for ice cream and you can tell me all about it."

I stared up at him, "Ice cream? But it's almost December."

He seemed to ponder about that. Finally he spoke, "Fine. Hot chocolate then?"

I grinned, "It took you time to think about that? Normally, hot chocolate would be the first response when I say almost December."

"Oh I know. I just wanted to see you smile," he chuckled.

I blushed. But only because it was so cold._ Not_ because of Travis. So stop thinking about that!

"Let's go. I know this great place," he said.

-))()-()((-

We walked for ten minutes or so through the streets. It was beautiful to come by during winter, only because of all the festive holiday decor. Finally, we arrived at a high-end, white brick building. The place was huge, six stories, floor to ceiling windows. Everything! I recognized it at once.

"The Sluensburg Health club?" I asked. This was Cas's mom's popular business.

"Correct," he replied.

"And…?" I pressed.

"Well little do most people know, the café has the _best _hot chocolate in town," he told me quietly, as if it were a secret.

"Wait...they have a café?"

"Yup, on the sixth floor. For platinum members," he winked.

"You're a member?" I gasped. To join the health club, you had to be sixteen. Travis was three years under that limit.

"Well Cassie's mom gave me an exception."

"Wow. Lucky," I grumbled.

We walked through the doors, Travis flashing his membership card to the guard at the front counter. We went into the glass elevator and Travis scanned his card, which gave us access to the entire club. He pushed the large number six and we slowly ascended.

"I'm sure if you ask Mrs. Sluensburg, she'll make an exception for you too," Travis shrugged his shoulders.

"Ehh maybe. I don't really workout. You know, considering I already get all-year activity from soccer, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics..." I trailed off.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," he joking rolled his eyes, "But me, I got football. And since that already ended, I got nothing."

"Oh yeah. You did pretty awesome, leading that team to gold. But that's why soccer is better. We can play indoors," I laughed.

"Okay no. We are not going to debate about this. Besides, we_could _play football indoors," he muttered.

The elevator tinged and we got out. I immediately gasped.

It. Was. Amazing.

I had only been on the first floor with my mom but I'd never been anywhere else. This floor though, was incredible. I understood why only platinum members access to this floor. The elevator let us out into the atrium. From there, I saw glimpses of workout rooms down some hallways. Opposite to that, there was a food court type thing. Not with hamburgers or fries, but with coffees and teas.

Like an upgraded starbucks. Yeah...like that.

In the middle of the atrium was a beautiful waterfall that went straight through the floor. I ran up to the ledge and looked down into the hole. It went all the way down the lobby.

"Amazing right?" He asked, walking up to join me.

"It is. You know, for a health club."

"I know right. I always forget where I am because it doesn't looking like an exercise place," he said dreamingly looking at the tranquil falls.

"Honestly, it feels like we are at a spa."

He chuckled, "True. Anyways, I want to hear this story. Let's go to the café."

We headed into the food court of beverages. Finally, we settled in a small coffee shop.

"You have to try their vanilla bean hot chocolates. They are to _die_ for!" He exclaimed.

"Sure. That sounds good."

"What would you like today?" asked a pretty, young and blonde waitress.

"Two vanilla bean hot chocolates please," he flashed a winning smile. I swear, the waitress blushed a bit.

"Okay. Anything else?" she asked cheerily.

"Nope that's it. Thanks."

The waitress took a final glance at Travis, winked at him and sped off.

Now here's one thing that you should know about Travis. He doesn't look like he's thirteen. He looks like he's seventeen. He's five foot, eleven inches, has messy dirty-blonde hair and I think that he shaves too. So it's hilarious when we go out to restaurants. All the younger waitresses flirt with him. Even a woman in her forties had tried to flirt. It's always so funny and this time was no different.

Right when the waitress left, we exploded in laughter.

I think I'm nick naming her Winky. Only because it looked like her eyes were spazzing when she was collecting our order.

"Ahhh that never gets old," I said once we had calmed down.

"Oh. Be quiet," Travis quickly stopped laughing as the Winky re-appeared with our order.

"Here you go," she gave both of the drinks to Travis, while totally ignoring me, "I hope you don't mind, I added extra sugar."

He grinned, "Thanks dear."

She giggled, "If there is anything else. Feel free to ask me."

"Oh don't worry we will."

"We?" She asked. She turned to me, finally registering that I was there. Immediately, she turned sour, "Oh. Right there are two of you. Okay I'll leave you two alone."

I took a sip of my drink. A warm feeling spread through my body. Travis was right, it was to die for.

When I looked up, I saw him staring at me in amusement.

"What?" I asked.

"You have some foam on your face," he said gesturing.

"Oh. Oops," I quickly wiped that off. How embarrassing.

"Isn't good?"

"It's fantastic," I smiled.

"So what was that long story again?" Travis asked.

"Oh right," I had forgotten about that. I quickly told him everything that I knew about Kiki for the second time that day. He listened and drank as I talk, occasionally nodding. When I was finished I looked at him for his reaction, hoping that he wouldn't overreact like Cas had.

He did a low whistle, "That's a lot of take in. I understand why Cas got upset. When did the changes in Kiki start?"

I thought about that, "Around the end of October."

"Did anything happen around there?"

"Well besides us being engulfed in sports, nothing really."

"So you said something about her mom. When did she figure out that she was coming home?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea. Kiki didn't tell us directly. Cas told me two weeks ago."

"I guess it doesn't play a big part then," he paused, "Is it possible that she caught a flu bug?"

"I actually though about that for a while. But it wouldn't make sense because flues don't last a month. Plus, she wouldn't be at school if she were ill."

"Maybe it's the after effects of a flu?"

I raised an eyebrow, "After flu effects?"

"Yeah I kinda made that up," he admitted.

Suddenly I heard some loud laughter from another booth behind me. Forced laughter. Laughter that sounded oddly familiar.

"Don't turn around. Kara is there," Travis warned leaning in.

"Great. I didn't know that she was a platinum member," I said, rolling my eyes.

"She isn't. Her mom is though. She probably used her pass," Travis said returning the eye roll. He leaned forward more, "To tell you the truth, her mom needs the exercise."

I stifled laughter, "Yeah too true."

_Click_

A shutter sounded.

"What was that?" I whispered.

"It sounded like a phone camera," Travis said. He craned his neck to look at Kara, "Yup. It's Kara's phone. She's no doubt taking some selfies."

_Click_

Another picture Kara? Really?

"I swear, that chick doesn't need any more pictures of herself. She has like three hundred of them posted on Facebook," I murmured.

_Click_

"Okay. I think it's time to leave. That shutter sound is annoying the hell out of me," Travis said, irritation clearly in his voice.

"Agreed," I finished my drink. Travis quickly paid, though not to the same waitress as before. Winky was sulking in the corner, giving me the stink eye. It's so funny how random strangers think that I'm Travis's girlfriend. Ha. Thankfully people at school know better.

My mind went back to Kiki. Instantly my mood went south. Travis must have noticed because he took one glance at me and gave me a big hug. I felt warm and safe in his arms. Ah I'm so happy that I had Trav to keep me levelled.

_Click_

"Ugh. More shutter snaps…let's go," he said.

We left the cafe and instead of going back down in the elevator, we took the stairs. I wanted to talk guest list with Travis.

"Is she invited?" I asked.

"Who? Kara? Yeah she is. My mom put her in charge of the teen room slide show," he answered.

"Great more drama. This will be fun."

"It won't be that bad. Plus I know that Dan is invited," he smirked at me. I slapped his arm playfully.

Dan? My heart did a flutter at the mention of his name.

"Who else from our school?"

"Well there's Amy Makka, Cherice Wills, Zach Takashima, and Josh Foster. Well those are the ones in our grade anyways."

Amy Makka was our school's president. She was super sweet, smart and nice. Seriously, I've never heard a bad thing about her. Everyone liked her. It was uncanny.

Cherice Wills was a shy girl in our grade. Her parents owned two of the local upscale restaurants so they definitely had money. Cherice though didn't care for that. She spent most of her free time reading, if I remember correctly.

Zach Takashima was a jock. One of Travis's good friends. He was a typical jock with dark flippy hair, a love for randomly throwing and catching balls in the halls and for being a straight B student. He was pretty hot to boot.

Finally, Josh Foster was a musician. Head student of our jazz band actually. He played the saxophone and man, was he ever amazing! He was a nice guy, not to mention he had nice hair.

God, I'm sounding like one of those really bad match sites.

"A very...colourful group...who else from other grades?" I asked.

"Sage Enright's family is invited," Travis said, "I think you know her. She's on the soccer team."

"Sage?" I replied, "Yeah. She's awesome. So what do her parents do?"

"Both in the fashion business. They are actually working for Mrs. Kamari," he raised an eyebrow at me.

Well that explained Sage's model-like looks.

"I see," I said quietly.

"Yeah, I think the party will be awesome," he grinned.

"Three weeks. Thank god one of those weeks is winter break. That will take the load off. Though I have like fifty soccer practises."

"Sounds busy but I have to spend the_ entire _week before Christmas setting up!" He exclaimed.

"Okay well I'll help you with set up whenever I'm free," I replied as well exited the gym.

"Really?" He smiled wide, "That would be amazing!"

"Eh no problem. And I get to see the hall before hand," I winked, "Gives me some time to plan."

"Of course," he said, draping an arm lazily over my shoulder as we walked home.

_Click_

Damn. That shutter is now sounding in my head.

That's gonna scar me now.

I swear.

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><p><strong>So guys the next Shelby chapter is a big one. Plot wise and word count wise. Who knows maybe I'll split it into three for you guys. ;)<strong>

**Let's just say that the next Shelby chapter has a lot of cute romance, epiphany moments and drama. Entitled "The Gray Holiday Banquet" *winkwinknudgenudge***

**Review please and I'll update soon!**

**~Reensie (^_^)**


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